2. The two lead candidates seem interested primarily in wiping
out the other and, secondarily, the future of Texas.

3. We have a tea party candidate who seems driven primarily by
her view of the world and, secondarily, her need for power.

Let's break these parts down:

First, moderates need not apply. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison
caused the hearts of big-tent Republicans to flutter when she
emphasized at her campaign's outset that the GOP can't survive by
narrowing its base. Since then, she's pretty much run the other
way, trying as hard as Gov. Rick Perry to close the tent to
moderates.

In Thursday's debate, Hutchison didn't mention one word about a
big tent. Instead, she, like Perry, spent most of her time
explaining how conservative she is on immigration, taxes and
abortion.

I don't know why, but she's sending the same message that Perry
has sent over his nine years as governor: the more right-wing, the
better. At some point, Texas Republicans will have to realize that
the party's got to grow its base. Moderate Texas transplants,
suburban independents and Latinos could easily be drawn in, but
someone's got to invite them with issues they care about, like good
schools, reliable roads, adequate water supplies and safe
neighborhoods.

Second, Hutchison and Perry seem most interested in pulverizing
the other. While Hutchison and Perry do talk issues on the stump,
they spend most of their time in ads and e-mails running the other
down.

Hutchison's people think she must show that Perry needs to go.
But there's a flaw in taking that argument too far. They ought to
get her to talk day and night about where she wants to take Texas.
Ronald Reagan's "city on a shining hill" speech helped get him
elected, not his dislike for Jimmy Carter.

She had a great line the other night about wanting to get Texas
ready for the next 20 years. She ought to play the heck out of that
one and show people where she wants Texas to go. Forget this
Perry's-a-dope strategy.

Perry, on the other hand, loves to gig her, and you can tell. He
had a mischievous, college-boy grin when he asked her whether she
was ever going to leave the Senate.

But why on earth is he running for another term, other than to
say he served 14 years and hates taxes? It sure would be nice to
find out.

Third, Debra Medina is the ultimate values-driven candidate, but
she's not Ross Perot. The former GOP county chair and current tea
party activist is like most libertarians - motivated mostly by
beliefs, not a need for power.

Now, her ideas are kind of loopy. For example, she wants to wipe
out property taxes and replace them with sales taxes. For some,
that will have an intrinsic appeal, but Texas would end up with one
walloping sales tax. And it would particularly crush poor
people.

Moreover, she doesn't have enough flair, bucks or X factor to
make the kind of dent that Perot did in the 1992 presidential
race.

So, this race gets down to a Perry-Hutchison fight until the
March 2 primary. Let's hope they find more time to explain where
this complicated, growing state must head. And that they talk to
more than the most conservative Texans.

There are plenty of voters who want to maintain our low-tax
economy, but they also want to know how the state plans to provide
enough money for roads, assimilate Latinos in Texas' schools and
supply enough water.

If they aren't invited into the GOP tent, you will hear their
feet marching into the Democratic one come fall.

William McKenzie is a Dallas Morning News editorial columnist
and moderates Texas Faith at dallasnews.com/texasfaith and The
Education Front at dallasnews.com/educationfront. His e-mail
address is wmckenzie@dallasnews.com.

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About William McKenzie

Bill joined The News in 1991, after spending 12 years in the wilds of Washington, D.C. The University of Texas grad worked there for 1980 presidential candidate John Anderson and then edited the Ripon Forum. Texas drew Bill back home to join the editorial board, where he writes editorials and a weekly column. The Fort Worth native spearheaded the launch of Texas Faith, a weekly online discussion about religion, politics and culture. He has followed George W. Bush closely and extensively covered Texas politics and the state's water needs. He and his wife are raising enthusiastic twins.

Hometown: Fort Worth, Texas

Education: The University Of Texas, bachelor of business administration, 1976